It's Almost Time to Do This!

Hello VCFMW Fan!  As of this writing, there is just under a week to go until the 18th (can you believe it?) instance of VCF Midwest goes online.  Are you ready?  Are we??  No!  But there's almost a week to go...

Extra Parking

Our gracious hosts at the Waterford have arranged a deal with the Public Works building located just south of the hotel so that our guests may park in their western lot on Saturday only.  Parking is also available on Riverside Drive, but please do not park in any of the other business lots nearby.  You're sure to be towed!

VCF Talks and Youtuber Panel - New Location

For all the previous shows we've held at the Waterford, we've had the Talks in Room "A".  This year, we needed the tables for your displays and vendors, so the live presentations will now we downstairs in the Oakbrook Room.  The room is easy to find but the stairs can be tricky.  There's a spiral staircase hidden between the hotel lobby and the main Waterford hall.  There is also an elevator that can accommodate a wheelchair or cart.

The Fabulous VCF Midwest Auction

If you've seen it before, you know you'll want to see it again.  And if you haven't, this is your chance to witness two+ hours of a man's voice sacrificed for the cause of vintage computing (and maybe pick up some cool loot while you're at it! Stop by the Oakbrook Room before 4pm on Saturday to join in the fun.  All auction proceeds go directly to the 501(c)3 non-profit that runs VCFMW and play a significant part in funding the show.

Outdoor Sales

If the weather is good, you'll find vendors setting up ad-hoc sales from their cars or trucks in the parking lots.  Many of them will advertise on the Giant White Board that we provide in the front lobby near the T-Shirt sales.  The board can also be used by anyone who'd like to post a for-sale or wanted ad.  Want to sell a single floppy drive? Post it (and your contact info) on the board and watch your phone catch fire.  Or print up a list of items and magnet them to the board instead!

T-Shirts

Once again you will have the opportunity to boost your fashion resume while supporting VCF Midwest.  T-Shirts is sizes from Small to 5XL (plus Ladies and new Youth sizes) will be available for a $25 donation starting from Saturday morning open until the cache is depleted.  We printed a lot more this year, but you'll still want to get yours on the early side in case your size sells out.

Learn to Solder!

New to VCFMW this year are the crew from Build-a-Blinkie.  They host beginner seminars on soldering for young and old using their unique "blinkie" electronics kits which they will have for sale at their tables.  They'll be located in the hotel area near the Bistro.  Pay them a visit! And if you have young ones who'd like to get started in the craft with guidance from experienced electronics builders, bring them along as well!

Donations

There are many ways you can help support VCF Midwest!  If you'd like to donate an item(s) for the VCFMW fundraising auction or the Garage Sale table, let us know before Saturday if possible.  That will allow us to get auction items tagged and listed in the auction spreadsheet, streamlining our job on Saturday afternoon.  If you're in the area and can drop your donation off near Elk Grove Village, even better.

Chicago Classic Computing, the club that runs VCF Midwest, is now a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.  We can provide a receipt for your donation upon request (might have to wait 'til after the show.)  Talk to your lawyer or accountant about how you'd deduct such a donation.  This is all new to us and we don't know how any of that works.

If you have any questions not covered here, feel free to ask them via email and we'll try to reply as soon as we can.

We'll see you next week!

-jason, battling being buried in beige boxes